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10-Minute Chipotle Steak Tacos

I just had. THE BEST. TACOS. EVER. And they only took me 10 minutes to make (not including time for marinating)! I literally just finished dinner and decided I needed to write this post and share it with y’all ASAP. Since I’m coming down from this taco high, please bear with me if I sound WAY too excited about this recipe.

You need to make these. As soon as possible.

These chipotle steak tacos are topped with a simple mixture of cilantro and onion, with a drizzle of the pan sauce leftover from cooking the steak. They are perfection. The flavor of the meat is spicy and smoky from a simple chipotle pepper marinade, which pairs perfectly with the bright and crunchy cilantro onion mixture and a squeeze of fresh lime juice on top. I just ate four of these (yes, FOUR), and I strongly believe that I would continue to eat more if I hadn’t run out. Do you think there’s still time to go to the store and get more ingredients??? (she said with a desperate tone)

Well, even though I can’t have any more of these tacos right now, I am happy because Zach and I made a sacred oath tonight that we will have tacos once a week from this point on until… well, probably forever. And probably on Tuesdays. Because, alliteration.

This recipe uses small pieces of fajita-cut steak (I bought mine from the store already cut up, but you can use any cut of beef you want and thinly slice it yourself), which makes the cooking time very fast. The steak is marinated in a simple mixture of two chopped chipotle peppers (or one, or three… depending on your spice preference!), minced garlic, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I left mine marinating for about an hour- you can do this step the night before and leave them marinating overnight for even deeper flavor.

Fun fact time. Did you know that chipotle peppers are just jalapeno peppers that have been smoked?

And did you ALSO know that including something acidic in marinades (such as the lime juice in this recipe) makes meat more tender? That’s why chicken is sometimes soaked in buttermilk before breading and frying- the acidity of the buttermilk makes the chicken super juicy.

Oh, the things you learn from binge-watching the Food Network on weekends :-)

Once you’re ready to make the tacos, brown the steak in a skillet for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through (it will take very little time, since it’s cut into such small pieces). Once the meat is cooked, remove from the pan so it doesn’t continue to cook. You will be left with some sauce left in the pan- DO NOT THROW THIS OUT. You will be drizzling each taco with these delicious juices, making them extra tasty.

While the meat is cooking, chop up equal parts of cilantro and onion (I used yellow onion, but you can use red for a milder onion taste). Toast up the corn tortillas over your gas burner on your stovetop or in the oven, or just microwave them for a few seconds to soften them up (cold corn tortillas will crumble when you try and fold them- warm or toasted ones will be malleable enough to fold over to create your tacos).

Top each corn tortilla with steak, cilantro and onion, and drizzle with the pan juices. Squeeze a bit of fresh lime juice on there, too. Eat immediately, and try not to be too sad when they are all gone.

10-Minute Chipotle Steak Tacos

These chipotle steak tacos are topped with a simple mixture of cilantro and onion, with a drizzle of the pan sauce leftover from cooking the steak. They take only ten minutes to make and are perfectly smoky and spicy!

Author:Elizabeth Lindemann

Cook Time:10 mins

Total Time:10 mins

Yield:8 tacos 1x

Scale

Ingredients

1 lb. fajita cut steak (or thinly sliced steak)

1–3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo (depending on spice preference)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 limes

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for skillet

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow or red onion

8 corn tortillas

Instructions

To make the marinade, chop the chipotle peppers and mix with one tablespoon of the adobo sauce, garlic, juice of one lime, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

In a bowl, container, or plastic bag, mix the steak with the marinade and allow to sit in the fridge for at least one hour or as long as overnight.

Brown the steak in a skillet with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until fully cooked. Once steak is cooked, remove from skillet so it doesn’t continue to cook (reserve the pan juices).

Meanwhile, mix the chopped cilantro and onion together in a small bowl.

Cut the remaining lime into 8 wedges.

Toast the corn tortillas over your gas burner on your stovetop, in the oven, or warm in the microwave for a few seconds

Top each tortilla with steak, cilantro and onion, a drizzle of the pan juices, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

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Hi, I'm Elizabeth! I create easy, real food recipes for busy people. I'm a former high school art teacher from New England, now full time food blogger near Austin, TX, where I live with my hubby and two baby girls, Zoey and Eleanor. Learn more!

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Hello! I’m so glad you’re here.

Hi, I'm Elizabeth! I create easy, real food recipes for busy people. I'm a former HS art teacher, now full time food blogger. I live near Austin, TX with my hubby and two baby girls. learn more!

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